The nonprofit restaurant FoCo Cafe has seen a surge in support after its wooden donation box was stolen this week.

About $500 in donations came within the first 10 hours after the 225 Maple St. restaurant announced the theft of an estimated $100 in funds on Tuesday afternoon, executive director Mallory Andrews told the Coloradoan. FoCo Cafe has no set prices but asks customers to pay what they are able, pay it forward or volunteer for their meal.

"We're lucky we have such a great supportive community for when things like this happen," Andrews said.

Staff noticed that the donation box was missing around 1 p.m. during Tuesday's busy lunch rush. The incident was reported to Fort Collins police.

"We are a no-profit, community-driven cafe reliant on the support of the community," Andrews said in a Facebook post about the incident. "For us, this is devastating to our ability to carry out our mission."

Andrews said this is the first time the pay-what-you-can cafe has experienced a theft. New protocols are being put into place to prevent it from happening again.

FoCo Cafe is open for lunch service from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Monday through Saturday. The operation is dedicated to providing all people a healthy meal and has served more than 75,000 meals since debuting on Thanksgiving in 2014.